DETROIT — Jahmyr Gibbs to the rescue.
Gibbs ran for a 69-yard touchdown on the first snap of overtime and had a career-high 264 yards from scrimmage along with three scores, lifting the Detroit Lions to a much-needed 34-27 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
“He bailed us out in a big way,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said.
Giants interim coach Mike Kafka helped, too.
Kafka went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 6 with his slumping team leading by three points, instead of kicking a short field goal that would have forced Detroit to score a touchdown. Winston threw an incomplete pass to Theo Johnson to end a 14-play, 86-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.
“We’re trying to win the game, so we want to score as many points as possible,” Kafka said after coaching his second game in place of the fired Brian Daboll. “We thought that was a place to be aggressive.”
Detroit took advantage. Jake Bates kicked a 59-yard field goal that matched his career high with 28 seconds left, giving Jared Goff another opportunity to put the ball in Gibbs’ hands.
Goff handed the ball to Gibbs for a run up the middle, Detroit's much-maligned offensive line opened a huge hole, and one of the NFL's fastest players took it from there.
“I’ve got the best seat in the field,” Goff said. “I put my hands up when he was about seven yards down the field.”
The Lions (7-4) entered the game out of the playoff picture, trailed by double digits multiple times and rallied to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time in more than three years.
“It was a must win,” Gibbs said.
And the Lions wouldn't have pulled it off without Gibbs.
The dual-threat running back had a career-high 219 yards rushing — the third-highest total in team history — and two touchdowns, including a 49-yard run early in the fourth quarter. He also had a career-high 11 catches for 45 yards and another score.
“We stopped him several times, but he got away that last time,” Kafka said.
New York had a chance to extend the game in overtime, but turned it over on downs at the Detroit 31 when Aidan Hutchinson sacked Jameis Winston.
Goff was 28 of 42 for 279 yards with two touchdowns: an 11-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown and a 3-yard pass to Gibbs in the first half. He had a deflected pass picked off.
St. Brown had nine catches for 149 yards.
The Giants (2-10) lost their sixth straight game and fifth this season after leading in the fourth quarter.
Making his second straight start in place of injured rookie Jaxson Dart, Winston had a 33-yard touchdown reception and threw a 39-yard touchdown pass on trick plays.
Winston was 18 of 36 for 366 yards — becoming the first to throw for at least 300 yards against Detroit this season — with two touchdowns and an interception.
Wan’Dale Robinson set career highs with nine receptions for 156 yards and had a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave the Giants one of their three 10-point leads.
“That very easily — a number of times — could’ve gone the other way, but it didn’t,” Campbell said. “We made the plays we had to make.”
The Giants, meanwhile, did not, which continued a trend.
They have lost an NFL-high five games after leading in the fourth. Last month at Denver, they became the first team since at least 1970 to lead by 18-plus points with six minutes remaining and lose in regulation.
“We need to find a way to finish them off, and I really believe our players can do that,” Kafka said.
Injuries
Giants: Dart (concussion) and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) each missed a second straight game and CB Paulson Adebo (knee) was out for the fifth game in a row. ... LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (neck) left in the second quarter.
Lions: CB Terrion Arnold (concussion) and S Kerby Joseph (knee) were inactive. ... WR/PR Kalif Raymond (ankle) was injured in the third quarter and didn’t return.
Up next
Giants: At New England on Monday, Dec. 1.
Lions: Host Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day.
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